Dutton undermines Albanese’s Teflon act as leaders clash on Welcome to Country

While Anthony Albanese put up his Teflon act, Peter Dutton landed punches and undermined the Labor PM’s glib talking points, writes James Morrow.

It is grimly appropriate that the program leading into Seven’s Final Showdown debate Sunday night was a gameshow.

After all, what better metaphor could there be for a campaign that has largely avoided big questions and instead focused on throwing cash around?

With six – effectively five by the time they took the stage – days left to go before polling day, both Anthony Albanese and Peter Dutton came off as weary, like a Jimmy Buffett cover band plodding its way through the last Margaritaville of its RSL tour.

Dutton and Albanese fired up all their greatest hits: Cost of living, immigration, free child care, scare campaigns over cuts.

Perhaps reflecting their fatigue and punchiness after long weeks on the campaign trail, both contestants – sorry, candidates – did not hesitate to have a crack at the other.

Game show or election debate? Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese and Australian Opposition Leader Peter Dutton speak during the 7NEWS "The Final Showdown" leaders debate on Day 30 of the 2025 federal election campaign. Picture: Lukas Coch/POOL/ via NewsWire

Annoyingly, and in keeping with the game show theme the traditional buzzer or bell was replaced with the sort of swelling music that normally tells a contestant they’ve got three seconds to answer or they’ll miss out on the new car.

Thus what was promising to be a good exchange about Labor’s tax on unrealised capitalised gains was cut off: dum-dum-dum-dum-DUM!

Opposition Leader Peter Dutton speaks during the 7NEWS "The Final Showdown" leaders debate on Day 30 of the 2025 federal election campaign, Sydney. Picture: Lukas Coch/POOL/ via NewsWire

Neither Albanese nor Dutton moved off the script we’ve seen in previous contests.

Albanese continued to run his Teflon act, saying he was doing things to fix the cost of living and housing crises without ever acknowledging that these things got worse on his watch, often as a result of Labor’s decision making.

Dutton seemed at times exasperated, and landed punches: “You can’t stand there telling people they’re better off, if you had a better story to tell you wouldn’t be running a scare campaign.”

Albanese’s responses to Dutton’s attacks were well rehearsed: “Peter can attack me but I won’t let him attack the wages of working people” he fired back in response to one jibe, using a classic redirection manoeuvre.

“You can’t stand here telling people they’re better off, if you had a good story to tell you wouldn’t be running a scare campaign,” Dutton said.

On the hot button issue of welcomes to country after Anzac Day booing incidents, Dutton tried to play it both ways.

Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese during the 7NEWS "The Final Showdown" leaders debate on Day 30 of the 2025 federal election campaign, Sydney. Picture: Lukas Coch/POOL/ via NewsWire

The promiscuous use of welcomes to country, Dutton said, threatened to make them less special – missing the point that many Australians, particularly Coalition voting conservatives, are tired of being “welcomed” to their own country.

Yet on the other hand he also said what many parents are thinking when he complained about a school curriculum that too often teaches kids to hate their own country.

On defence though, Albanese squibbed his answer about China, saying the relationship was “complex” while Dutton was happy to say Beijing was the biggest threat.

But, on points, the win would have to go to the Liberal leader who time and again undermined the Labor PM’s glib talking points and often misleading scares.

Originally published as Dutton undermines Albanese’s Teflon act as leaders clash on Welcome to Country